Instagram story viewer> @vgmlore> Posts

Video Game Music Lore

@vgmlore

14.3K

followers

58

following

One of the internet’s many rabbit holes 🕳️

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Let’s compare “Dragonspiral Tower” from Pokémon BW (2010) to “Secret of the Forest” from Chrono Trigger (1995) and Nausicaa (1984).

The Dragonspiral themes in BW are credited to Shota Kageyama, one of five composers who contributed to the OST.

When I listen to this track, I can’t help but trace it to the DNA of Secret of the Forest (Chrono Trigger / Mitsuda) and Aquatic Ambience from DKC (David Wise).

I’m not making any absolute claims, just sharing a video to show you how I hear and experience it.

The follow up track “Dragonspiral Tower: Top Floor” is included here, but I had to speed it up by 2x to keep the pace of the video, and I compare it to “Stampede of the Ohmu” from Nausicaa (1984) transposed down by two semitones so that the chromatic descending chord structures (1-4-3-2-1) will be easier for non musicians to compare.

This video is an appendix to my previous videos on Nausicaa, Chrono Trigger and Aquatic Ambience.

#pokemonbw #chronotrigger #nausicaa #gamemusic #videogamemusic by @vgmlore

51k

239

2 months ago

The main theme from Final Fantasy II lays the blueprint for music in FF IV, VII, VIII, IX, and beyond.

Uematsu built the sonic identity of Final Fantasy around recurring themes like this one. It’s partly how he gives players the feeling of continuity across each game.

He uses common or neighboring key signatures, similar melodic patterns, chord progressions, unique elements in the arrangement, and context from the game to bring his soundtracks to life.

We open by comparing the FFVII cue “Follow the Black Robes” from Rebirth (2024/1997) against the FFII main theme (1988).

Moving chronologically from FFII, the next cue is “Sorrow and Loss” from Final Fantasy IV (DS shown here). Uematsu shifted the A minor ostinato pattern up a half step to Bb minor. Note that the music is heard in a castle.

Uematsu draws the pattern back down to A minor for FFVII’s “Chasing the man in black”, or “Follow the Black Robes” as it’s known in Rebirth.

That A minor ostinato can be heard again in FFVIII’s “Find Your Way” with the same 1-5-b6-5 pattern.

FFIX’s Memoria doubles the length of the a minor phrase and adds more notes to embellish the simpler, original cell.

The swelling string trills and tubular bell on Memoria reminds me of the arrangement for Forested Temple in FFVII (which is also in A minor).

The FFIX track Pandemonium plays in a castle and alludes to the FFII track Castle Pandaemonium. They are both in A minor and take place in castle dungeons.

#finalfantasy #finalfantasyvii #nobuouematsu #finalfantasyix #videogamemusic by @vgmlore

2k

26

a month ago

Let’s compare the Korg M1 gamelan on “Corridors of Time” from Chrono Trigger (1995) to “Sirius” by Alan Parsons (1982) and “The Princess Who Loves Insects” by Joe Hisaichi for the Nausicaa OST (1984).

The Corridors of Time track makes a clear homage to the music from Nausicaa, and the character Nausicaa flies toward the star Sirius. Corridors of Time samples the otherwise unrelated song “Sirius” by Alan Parsons.

This Sirius detail could be a coincidence, or it could be a para-musical layer from Mitsuda, a wink to the fans.

#chronotrigger #videogamemusic #vgmusic #vgm #gamelore by @vgmlore

27k

332

3 months ago

Let’s compare Kakariko Forest to “In My Room” by the Beach Boys and the TAPS Bugle Melody.

I’ve shifted the Beach Boys track down 1 semitone to match Koji Kondo’s version, and cut the TAPS horn melody to skip some of the long sustains (but kept the pitch in tact - they’re in the same key).

The final Beethoven lick has been mentioned a few times by other people online, as a reference to the way the melody concludes stepwise to the root note during the final cadence.

#kokiri #linktothepast #zelda #kojikondo by @vgmlore

1k

15

10 hours ago

Let’s compare Zelda’s Lullaby to “This Boy” by Hiroshi Sato, Mort Garson’s Plantasia piece “Concerto for Philodendron and Pothos” and Steve Hackett’s “Hands of the Priestess”.

Imagine that Koji Kondo knew of all three songs. They seem to overlap and converge around the same topics.

Hands of priestess : Princess Zelda
This Boy : Link
Plantasia : Kokiri Forest

We may never know the truth but it’s interesting to try reverse engineering the associations to decide why he might have picked this melody for the princess.

#ocarinaoftime #zeldaoot #kojikondo #videogamemusic #vgm by @vgmlore

1k

25

a day ago

Let’s continue with Bowser’s Castle from Super Mario World (1990).

Koji Kondo’s arrangement has hints of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain (composed 1867 and brough to life by fantasia in 1940).

It’s as if through the musical allusion, bowser inherits some qualities from fantasia’s shadow demon.

Most kids in the 90s would have already seen Fantasia and the musical similarity would create a sense of familiarity due to subconscious pattern recognition.

Final thought from the video - the Super Mario Bros 1 castle theme is often compared to Flight of the Bumblebees, but what if it was inspired by the similar chromatic effect used during Night on Bald Mountain’s intro. I show them back to back at the end here.

If that were the case, Koji Kondo might have been elaborating on earlier influences during the castle theme on Super Mario World.

#supermarioworld #kojikondo #supermariobros by @vgmlore

402

24

2 days ago

Let’s compare the SMB3 castle theme with the Twilight Zone theme from 1959.

We’ll also have a listen to the Dark Land next to the Ghostbusters intro, and Ice Land next to some lesser known catalog music.

#smb3 #supermariobros3 #kojikondo #videogamemusic #vgm by @vgmlore

525

22

4 days ago

Let’s compare “Dire Dire Docks” from Mario 64 with this tune by John Denver.

“The Flower that Shattered the Stone” has a similar instrument texture, tonal center, and signature top note that punctuates the statement.

#mario64 #supermario64 #waterlevel #kojikondo #videogamemusic by @vgmlore

707

17

5 days ago

Let’s compare the Athletic theme from SMB3 (1988) with the vintage start music from Dig Dug (1982).

The similar descending motif couples with some comparable game design elements (you play as a small human who goes underground via pipe-like paths).

I’ve also included a second comparison between the picture line up music and Wish by Stevie Wonder.

As a final aside, I’ve included a brief comparison between the game over music and Old Macdonald.

#smb3 #supermario #kojikondo #supermario3 #supermariobros3 by @vgmlore

719

17

6 days ago

We teamed up with @vgmlore and found dozens of inconsistencies, and it’s all because of data encoding!

#finalfantasy7 #squareenix #nobuouematsu #ff7 #gaming by @vgmlore

7k

128

10 days ago

Let’s compare Koji Kondo’s SMB3 to a collection of influences that may have inspired him.

We’ll start with two SMB3 map themes back to back, Giant Land and Grass Land, to show how they are in the same key as the short David Frost theme played by the Beatles before their iconic televised Hey Jude performance in 1968.

Now oddly enough, that tune was written by George Martin in 1966, around the same time another song came out called Two Can Have a Party.

In 1968, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell re-released that tune just a couple months before the Hey Jude performance. The Beatles actually play the top melody from “Two can have a party” instead of the melody David Frost theme, which I believe was the joke for people at that time. But they play it in a different key: The SMB3 key heard on Grass and Giant lands.

Dragon Ball’s 1986 ending credits music alludes to the same top melody, and is even in the same key as Marvin Gaye’s version of “Two can have a party”.

#smb3 #supermariobros3 #supermario3 #kojikondo #videogamemusic by @vgmlore

2k

32

11 days ago

5k

99

15 days ago